Self-winding watch



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet I. J. J. L.'BRUN.

SELF-WINDING WATCH. No. 271.030. Patented J&n.23, 1883.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. J. J. L. BRUN.

. SELF-WINDING WATCH. No. 271,030. Patented Jan.Z3, 1883.

1 illlilllllllllll l l 50657063865 Awe/ 242" PATENT OFFICE.

JEAN J. L. BRUN, OF HIGHLAND, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOE OF ONE-HALF TO TIMOTHYGRUAZ,

OF SAME PLACE.

SELF-WINDING WATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,030, dated January23, 1683.

(No model.)

10 all whom at may concern Boit known that I, JEAN JAQUES Louis BRUN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Highland, in the county ofMadison and State oflllinois, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Self-Winding \Vatches; and I do declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and

to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form apart of thisspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in watches, and is self orautomatically winding, and is adapted to indicate the length of time forwhich it is wound up, and to arrest the action of the winding mechanismat the proper time; and the nature of the invention consists in theemployment of a vibrating weighted lever actuating a ratchet, pawls, andpinion gearing with a pinion on the mainspriug-axis, said leverbeingsuspendedin position by means of a spring, while at points at theends of its strokes are arranged spring rolls or cushions.

ltoonsists,also,ofatoothed segment-orquad' rant, engaging with a pinionon the mainspring-axis, and carrying an index or pointer registeringwith a graduated are on the watch face or dial.

It consists, further, in the employment of a two-armed plate or lever,suitably hung or pivoted in position, with one arm adapted to bear on anut riding upon a screw-thread of the mainspring-axis, and the other armto arrest the movement of the aforesaid lever after the winding up ofthe watch,substantially as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a face view of a watch-dialembodying my improvement in part, and Fig. 2 is a view of the inner diskor plate of a watch or its frame with the remaining parts of myinvention applied thereto. Figs. 3 to 9 are detail views of myinvention.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a lever, A, pivoted at one endupon an axis or pivot, a, supported in the disk or plate B of thewatch-frame, and a bracket, b, secured to an additional piece of thewatch-frame. Said end of the lever is secured to one end of a strong,powerful spring, 0, the opposite end of I which is fastened to the watchframe disk or tion. The spring G has a series of apertures in one end toenable the taking up the slack or regulating the tension. The lever A isalso fastened at the same end to a ratchet, D, with which engage pawls dd, hung upon the inner circumference of an annular flange of a large-pinion,I l, said ratchetand pinion turning upon the axis or pivot a ofthe lever A. The wheel or pinion E is adapted to gear with a pinion,E,on the mainspring-axis 6, whereby its movement, received through theratchet and pawls fronrthe lever, the operation of which will bepresently described, is transmitted to and causes the winding up of themainspring. The opposite end of the lever A has affixed to it a weight,A, to impart momentum thereto in its suspended position, and, held underthe action of the spring 0, as the watch, with the lever, is carried inthe pocket, partakesofthevibrations of the body of the carrier, wherebythe operation of winding up the mainspring ot'the watch will be eflectedautomatically. The weightis prevented from striking the watch-case, andconcussion thereof overcome by disposing frictional rolls A at the twoextremes or points limiting the movement of the weight, said rolls beinghung or having their bearings in the bifurcated ends of curved springsA, fastened to the disk 13 of the watch case or frame. The lever A hasalso at the latter end a frictional roll, a, which travels between andagainst the disk B, and a raised rail or bar, A, fastened to the saiddisk at its ends, and which prevents lateral or side movement of thelever.

The mainspriug F (seen in Fi 8) is incl'osed within a circular case, F,secured to the disk or plate B, while its axis 0 turns in a suitablebearing-plate fastened to the disk and in a bracket, 0, said axis beingscrew-threaded and carrying a nut, F The axis 0 extends a short distancebeyond theinclosing-caseofthe spring its nut during winding andunwinding of the spring, the purpose of which will be seen directly. Onthe end of the axis 0 next to the dial is a small pinion,f, (see Fig.3,) which engages with a toothed segment or quadrant, G, suitably hungor pivoted in position upon the plate B, and carrying upon its pivot,which projects through the dial, an index or pointer,

plate at c, which holds it in a suspended posi-' F, to permit therequired movement thereon of II. This index or pointer registers with agraduated arc, I, on the dial, as seen in Fi 1, its graduationindicating, in the presentinstance, sixty (60) hours divided up intointervals of ten hours. It will be therefore seen that when themaiuspring or the watch is wound up the quadrant G will travel in onedirection as the pinion f, with which it gears, is turned by suchwinding-up action of the spring, and thus cause its pointer or indicatorH to move and register on the graduated are I on the watch-dial with thenumber indicative of the length of time for which the watch is wound up.Upon the unwinding of the spring or the running down of the watch itwill of course follow that the movement of the pin- -ionfwill hereversed, and the quadrant will move in the opposite direction, carryingits pointer back to the starting-point, when it will be ready to'beagain carried forward, as before.

J J are two arms,fastened toor formed with a connecting-piece at theirupper ends, which is hinged or pivoted to the disk B, to enable the armsto swing outward therefrom at their lower ends. One arm, J, is curvedinward, and bears against and enters a recess in the end of the nut F ofthe mainspring-axis c, said nut being prevented from turning, as itrides ontward and inward, upon said axis by a guidepin, 9, fixed to thecase F, and projecting through an aperture or slot in said nut. Theother arm, J, has a tooth, h, at its lower end, which engages with aseries of teeth, h, on the inner surface ofa slightly-curved verticalcrossbar, K, of the lever A.

It will be noticed that when the mainspring or watch has been wound up,at which time the nut F will have l'aveled to the outer end ot'its screworaxis, as before explained, the arm J, bearing-against said nut, willbe carried outward by the movement of the nut, which will cause itsfellow arm J to have like movement and bring its tooth into engagementwith the coincidentnotch between two of the teeth of the bar K of thelever A, and thus arrest further action or movement of the lever, andconsequently stop the winding operation. By means of this invention anautomatically or self winding watch is obtained, and one whereby alsothelength of time for which it is wound up isindicated and thewinding-up operation or tightening of the maiuspring is arrested at theproper moment. v

Having thus fully described my invention, 1 claim and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States- 1. In a 'atch, the combination,with the mainspring and its screw-threaded axis carry- 2. In a watch,the combination, with the mainspring having a screw-threaded axiscarrying a nut, of the spring, pendulum-lever operating mechanismadapted to wind up or tighten the said spring, the toothed quadrant orcurved rack gearing with a pinion on the maiuspring-axis and carrying apointer or index, and the hinged or pivoted arms, one bearing againstthe mainspring-axis nut and the other adapted to arrest the movement ofthe pendulum, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a watch, the combination, with the mainspring F and its axis 6,provided with a pinion, of the wheel E, having the pawls d, the ratchetD, spring 0, axis a, lever A, having the weight A, and thespring-supported rolls or cushions A A substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. In a watch, the combination, with the mainspriug F and its axiscarrying a pinion, of the wheel E, having thepawlsd, the atchet; D,spring 0, axis a, weighted lever A, carrying at one end a frictionalroll, a, and the elevated rail or bar A, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

5. In a watch, the combination, with the mainspring F, having ascrew-threaded axis, 6, carrying a nut, F with its guide-pin g, of thehinged or pivoted arms J J, one bearing against the said nut and theother having a tooth at one end, and the weighted spring-lever A, havingthe toothed bar K, and adapted,

'in connection with other mechanism, to wind up or tighten themainspring, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. In a watch, the combination, with the mainspring F, thescrew-threaded axis 0, having a pinion,and nut F with its guide-pin g,of the arms J J,one bearing against the said nut and the other having atooth, the weighted lever A, having the toothed bar K, the spring (J,

ratchetD and toothed wheel E, having pawls d, and axis a, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

7. In a watch, the combination, with the niainspring F, having thescrew-threaded axis 6, carrying the guided nut F and a pinion on eachend, (one markedfi) of the lever A, having the weight A, the toothed baror rack K, and

the frictional roll a, frictional rolls A springs A elevated rail or barA plate B, spring 0, ratchet 1), wheel E, having pawls d, toothedquadrant or segmental rack G, carrying an index, H, graduated arc orscale I, and the pivoted or hinged arms J J, one bearing against the nutF, and the other having a tooth engaging with a rack, K, of the lever A,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereofI affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JEAN JAQUES LOUIS BRUN.

Witnesses: GEORGE X. RUEGGER, TIMOTHY GRUAZ.

IIO

